Shaqiri has likened the £18.3million arrival from Porto in January to Patrick Vieira.
Imbula scored his first goal for Stoke at Bournemouth on Saturday.
“You can compare him to Patrick Vieira, only Gianelli is all left-footed,” Shaqiri told reporters.
“He has that ability to play secure passes all match and that is so important in a midfielder. He has an unbelievably good technique and plays that key pass between the lines.”
